Of Marshmallow Fights and Cuddles
by Zelda-FF
Summary: Emil and Lilli bond after a day in the snow... while a Swiss man worries his head off. IceLiech AU.


I disclaim ownership of Hetalia.

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Her brother knew it wasn't a good idea. His sister and some light-haired punk staying in his family's vacation cabin in the wilderness? Thousands of miles from civilization? Okay, Vash was exaggerating because frankly he was worried. He knew the kid wasn't a delinquent, he'd performed a thorough background check on him, but he was still a member of the male species. He knew all too well what kind of thoughts went through the minds of nineteen-year-olds.

The Swiss was growing more and more anxious, so he decided to check the weather; if it wasn't too cold tomorrow he could go out and shoot to try and clear his mind.

"...and in the northwest due to a low-pressure system entering the area we have been experiencing a significant amount of snowfall. Predicted up to a foot, but possibly more if the winds die down during the night. Power outages expected, particularly in more secluded areas..."

This drove him from his seat, stalking across the room in only a few paces and fumbling to call his little sister's cellphone number. Tapping his foot impatiently, the phone rang... and rang... and no one picked up until the very last ring.

"Lilli? I want you to come home NOW. How much snow is on the ground? Is it sticking to the road? Why did it take you so long to answer-"

His stern yet concerned tone was answered by a bunch of static and a small voice that could barely be comprehended due to the line being quite fragile. There wasn't very good phone service out in the middle of nowhere, not considering the fact that Vash chose the cheapest cell service company.

"Bro-...yes...-lright!...sorr-...-tside-"

"Lilli? Lilli? I can't understand you-"

She could hear him decently well, though it did sort of sound like it was echoing, and tried to speak more clearly as she reassured Vash that she was fine and not to worry. Of course, Vash was himself so there was no way he was going to relax; she was surprised that he had let her stay with Emil in his family's little cabin. They had been dating for over a year, but they were both a little bashful towards each other; their kisses still only lasted a couple of seconds. Not a single ulterior motive of Emil's came to her mind when he suggested they have some time to themselves, especially when he said there was a pond for ice skating and a hilly field for sledding.

In fact, though it was already dark out, they had just been out in the snow when Vash called. The petite blonde's nose was still red and her cheeks all but numb, the ski pants she'd just shed moments before cold and soaked. She pulled her cell from her ear when the line went dead, frowning a little but setting the smartphone down on a nearby table. He had sounded pretty worried, but he said he wouldn't try to interfere and she was keeping him to that promise. They only had a couple more days before they were coming home anyway, and it didn't seem like it was snowing too hard when they were out making snow angels and throwing snowballs at each other.

Lilli's head shot up when the tea kettle squealed in the other room, indicating the water for their hot chocolates was finally ready. She got up from the couch, rubbing her hands together to return some feeling to them as she padded into the kitchen with her thick mismatched socks. He hadn't heard her, taking out two mugs and the container of hot chocolate powder before turning his head and beginning to call, "Lilli, the water is-"

He cut himself off when he saw her in the corner of his eye, smiling sort of sheepishly and opening the canister of cocoa powder. "Two or three scoops of hot chocolate?"

Her own smile grew and she held up four fingers, unabashedly answering, "Four!" and going over to the cupboard, stretching onto her tiptoes to reach the bag of jumbo marshmallows.

"You're going to be bouncing off of the walls... don't blame me if you can't fall asleep!" Emil chuckled a little to himself and shook his head, amazed at how much she had opened up to him over the time that they had known each other, and even since they'd come to the cabin. Some people didn't believe she even had a personality, but he knew it was really just hidden from those that didn't deserve her attention. Or at least that's how he saw it.

"No I won't..." she protested with the same childish grin, accepting the warm mug and the peck on the forehead. "Thank you."

"No problem, Lil." he mumbled, absentmindedly wondering if she knew how beautiful and just gorgeous -yes, he knows that's the same thing but describing her is so hard sometimes- she was. Lilli was so tiny yet mature when she needed to be, and even independent at times. Basically, he knew he was pretty freakin' lucky and that she was irresistible in the long-sleeved tee and leggings (and even the weird socks) and that he was actually dating her.

Of course this silence was noticed, as Lilli was a naturally perceptive person, even if she could be incredibly naive. "How many spoonfuls for the peculiarly quiet one...?" she asked teasingly, setting her own hot chocolate to the side to make his. She made a face when he said he only wanted two, and added two and a half instead.

They stood in the kitchen sipping at their drinks, hands and faces still warming up and their hair damp from the snow angels Lilli had suggested they make. She popped a marshmallow into her mouth and another into the mug before tossing one at Emil and taking her hot chocolate into the living room with a giggle like the tinkling of jingle bells on a sleigh.

He stooped down to pick it up and chucked it back at her head as he followed her, making sure to turn the thermostat up and wandering to the radio on an end table to turn it on. The teen didn't really care about the weather or the news, he just thought it made nice background noise. She stifled a yawn and leaned on his arm when he sat down next to her on the couch, looking out the window and only seeing a few flurries in the pitch dark outside.

"Do you think we could go sledding tomorrow? The snow won't be too deep, will it?" she wondered, taking another small sip to try and warm herself up. The heat was kicking in, to her relief, when the wind picked up suddenly outside. Static surrounded the words of the people on the radio, but she thought she heard the words "sporadic gusts."

"It should be fine, yeah." he replied, seemingly uninterested in sledding as he watched her. He did want to go out with her the next day, but he couldn't help but notice the way her eyelids were beginning to droop. Lilli's tiredness really was the cutest thing, the little thing all petered out after a long day playing outside. The only thought in his mind: perfect.

Before she could say anything else, he abruptly leaned down to kiss her ever so briefly on the lips. Lilli blushed a little and smiled shyly, still unable to get used to the little spontaneous things sometimes. (She could do the same to him, too.) Her soft green, doe-eyed gaze gave him courage to tenderly tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear and barely run his fingers along her jawline. At the unexpected affection, her lips quirked into a slightly brighter smile and a little more awake, leaned into his hand. Emil just stared at her for a little while before he took a short little breath.

"I-" The moment he began to speak, the lights and radio simultaneously cut out, making the both of them jump slightly. As if by instinct, Lilli felt around for his hand, taking it in her own and holding it firmly between them.

"I-it's you, right?" she couldn't help but ask, even though they had been sitting together for a while. He smiled and laughed a little in response before standing and leading her into the hall. From the closet he produced a pair of candles and a box of matches.

"No flashlights?" Her voice didn't tremble, but she did feel her stomach sink slightly. Lilli was not afraid of the dark, at least not normally, and didn't let on right away. Emil answered to the affirmative and lit the candles, handing her one. Expecting her to head to her room, he turned without a word and began to tidy up. She was tired, after all, and she always offered to help him, or in other words, doing all of his chores for him.

A minute later when he noticed she was still standing idly in the hallway, he offered her a faint, reassuring smile. "You can to go to bed if you want. I'm just taking care of some stuff." It didn't occur to him that she would be afraid, since she was fine the night before in her room by herself.

Lilli didn't move or answer right away. She didn't want to seem selfish, but she didn't want to sleep alone in the dark and cold! Not that it was kind of scary to be in an unfamiliar place with the power out. (It was.) "U-umm, could we stay in the living room until the electricity comes back?"

There were those wide, round eyes looking into his own again. Emil took her hand and guided her back to the couch in the living room, smiling to himself because even though she was a mature adult, she still needed him. He ran a hand through her hair comfortingly after he sat her down and put the candles to the side to get a blanket to drape over her. She mumbled a "thank you" which he only shrugged his shoulders at, cheeks going a little pink as he turned to the dusty fireplace. It hadn't been used in quite a while, apparently, but he was not going to let his love freeze. There wasn't very much firewood by the hearth, but ideally the power would be repaired the next day - plus it was an opportunity to show her that he could take care of her! (It's a guy thing.)

Once he'd put a few logs in the fireplace and lit it, Lilli held the blanket open for him, scooting close and wrapping the covers around them both. She laid her head on his shoulder and stared into the flames, sitting quietly for a time. Silence between the two of them was rarely uncomfortable, especially because individually, the both of them were rather introverted.

"Lilli..?" At the hesitant whisper, she raised her head a little. He was silent for a minute, making her wonder if he'd forgotten what he wanted to say.

No, Emil knew what he wanted to say. He'd tried to say it earlier, but the electricity's sudden uncooperativeness forced him to postpone it. There was nothing to keep him from speaking his mind but his cowardice, which was irrational, really. He shouldn't be afraid of telling her anything; after all, he loved her.

Well, that was actually the problem. His feelings for her were holding him back from telling her that he loved her and everything she did.

So he bailed. "U-uh—do you want to watch a movie on my phone? To pass the time..." Emil sighed to himself and gave himself a mental slap on the forehead as he pulled his phone out from his pocket and held it between them, tapping the Movies button. She questioned whether that was what he truly meant to ask but didn't voice the suspicions.

Instead, when she saw the list of movies on the screen she let out a tired, quiet giggle. "Twilight…" That was the last movie she'd expect to see there; so much for that "manly" act of his. She picked it, just to mess with the red-faced boy, not with the intent to actually watch it, and huddled against his side. Lilli yawned and slowly shut her eyes, a little smile spreading onto her lips when he wrapped an arm around her. Within minutes she drifted off to sleep, and Emil rested his own head upon her own, putting the embarrassing movie off to the side.

He couldn't have asked for anything more, falling asleep with his face buried in her silky hair and the fire burning down to lingering, glowing ashes as the snow came down in sheets outside.

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A/N: This was a birthday present for the Iceland RPer that got me into this pairing in the first place! Originally I hadn't liked it very much but wow it is super adorable.

Sorry for the fluffy cheesiness. /not actually sorry


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